Anticipation starts to build for 2007 Empire State Games

Jul. 16, 2006

Written by

RODERICK BOONE

THE JOURNAL NEWS

Once he hung up the phone, euphoria began to settle in, the excitement hard to contain.

Sal Perrotto had just been informed by Dave McNally, coach of the Hudson Valley scholastic men's lacrosse team, that he made the final cut and would be competing in the Empire State Games for the first time.

Then as Perrotto started looking ahead to the 300-plus-mile trek to Rochester, site of this year's Games, his enthusiasm was tempered.

"Making the team is an accomplishment," said Perrotto, who just completed his junior year at North Rockland High School. "But it's no fun to have to drive to Rochester or Syracuse, or all the way out there."

Next year, if he decides to simply watch the Empire State Games or participate in another sport — lacrosse is contested only at the scholastic level — Perrotto won't need MapQuest.

For the first time in the event's 29-year history, the Empire State Games will set up shop in the Lower Hudson Valley. The 2007 Games were awarded to Westchester County in January, meaning the green and yellow will be considered the home team for the second time in three years.

Last year's Games were held throughout the Poughkeepsie region, but that didn't stop Gov. George Pataki from choosing Westchester over Long Island and Plattsburgh, the two other bidding regions for the 2007 Games.

Nearly 6,000 athletes and upward of 20,000 spectators will descend upon the area for the six-day Olympic-style event, which is slated to take place July 24-29 at various sites throughout Westchester.

"We have been looking forward to this for two years," Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano said. "We put together a good proposal and we are really excited that they picked us. We think this is going to be great for the county.

"We think it's good for business. We also have the Games themselves, the excitement of the Games. It's going to be all over Westchester."

And it's expected to pump loads of money into the area's economy. When Long Island hosted the Games in 1999, area officials said $12 million to $13 million was added to the economy and Poughkeepsie saw an $8 million to $10 million boost last year.

Spano estimates Westchester likely will see a $10 million to $12 million economic boom, but pulling off the Games for the first time won't be an easy task. That's why a 12-member contingent of Westchester's local organizing committee is heading to Rochester to meet with ESG officials and the Rochester local organizing committee.

They will spend time picking the brains of Rochester's LOC and will be checking out the operation and exactly what putting on the Games actually entails. It's something members of Poughkeepsie's local organizing committee did in 2004 when the Games were held in Binghamton.

"I think that set a precedent for new cities that haven't hosted it before — to give them a firsthand look," Empire State Games executive director Fred Smith said,

Venues and other logistics won't be finalized until this year's Games have been completed and Smith has a chance to visit the Lower Hudson Valley again with the rest of his ESG crew. A tentative framework is in place, though, largely predicated on where the athletes will be staying.

Proximity is a high priority.

"We based our proposal on putting venues close to where housing was, so there wouldn't be that much of a transportation issue," said Westchester parks commissioner Joe Stout, a member of Westchester's local organizing committee,

Speaking of transportation issues, there could be a few around here, especially during the first two days of competition.

Those who frequent Westchester's main traffic arteries understand how congested the roads are. Maneuvering on Interstate 287, I-95, I-87 or the Hutchinson River Parkway can be tricky enough at times.

Adding thousands of extra cars to the already clogged, well-traveled roads could lead to some angry drivers. However, Spano pointed out the county has hosted several large events before and efficiently moved around thousands of spectators.

"We do the Barclays Classic, we (did) the U.S. Open," Spano said. "We have experience with this. It's not going to be like it is when we don't have the Games. There will be a little bit of traffic, but the whole inconvenience is outweighed by tens of thousands of people coming to the region.